The Birdwatcher

by William Shaw

Overview

Police Sergeant William South has a good reason to shy away from murder investigations: he is a murderer himself.

A methodical, diligent, and exceptionally bright detective, South is an avid birdwatcher and trusted figure in his small town on the rugged Kentish coast. He also lives with the deeply buried secret that, as a child in Northern Ireland, he may have killed a man. When a fellow birdwatcher is found murdered in his remote home, South's world flips.

The culprit seems to be a drifter from South's childhood; the victim was the only person connecting South to his early crime; and a troubled, vivacious new female sergeant has been relocated from London and assigned to work with South. As our hero investigates, he must work ever-harder to keep his own connections to the victim, and his past, a secret.

The Birdwatcher is British crime fiction at its finest; a stirring portrait of flawed, vulnerable investigators; a meticulously constructed mystery; and a primal story of fear, loyalty and vengeance.

**Longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316316248
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	06/27/2017
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

William Shaw is an award-winning music journalist and the author of several non-fiction books including Westsiders: Stories of the Boys in the Hood. Prior to becoming a crime writer, he worked at the post-punk magazine ZigZag and a journalist for The Observer, The New York Times, Wired, Arena, and The Face. He lives in Sussex, England.

Editorial Reviews

04/03/2017
At the start of British author Shaw’s engaging crime novel, William South, an avid birdwatcher and a community policing officer in Kent, England, muses on why he doesn’t want to be part of a murder team. First, it’s October, and the migratory birds are arriving. And, second, because “he was a murderer himself.” (As a child, he may have killed a man.) William is even more reluctant to participate when he learns that the victim is fellow birdwatcher Robert Rayner, a friend and neighbor. Rayner’s death is a mystery, and his life turns out to be an equally big one. Shaw (A Song for the Brokenhearted) has more than enough material there for a fine procedural, but he interweaves the present-day case with a more personal one, set in Northern Ireland in an earlier generation: 13-year-old Billy McGowan’s father is murdered during the Troubles between the Protestants and the Catholics, and locals, not all of them official, want to know who did it. Both plotlines intrigue, but the crosscutting weakens the overall impact. Still, the action builds to a thrilling ending. Agent: Karolina Sutton, Curtis Brown. (June)

Publishers Weekly

One of "Summer's chilliest thrillers... Shaw's prose still sinks its hooks in."—Entertainment Weekly

"I liked its discreet, thoughtful prose. . . . By its theatrical but moving conclusion, The Birdwatcher has become an excellent read."—Charles Finch, USA Today

"William Shaw's The Birdwatcher is a gem of an addition to the stellar Mulholland line of crime fiction. Shaw's writing is true British procedural; lean and spectacle-free, it nevertheless grabs and doesn't let go. With minimal telling, Shaw paints full characters and relationships with seemingly preternatural ease. Particularly satisfying are South's relationship with Cupidi's daughter Zoe and emotional flashbacks to his childhood in Ireland during the Troubles. A well-plotted mystery with love and loyalty at its core,The Birdwatcher is a gratifying standalone that both satisfies and cries for more."—Shelf Awareness [starred review]

"A gem of an addition to the stellar Mulholland line of crime fiction. Shaw's writing is true British procedural; lean and spectacle-free, it nevertheless grabs and doesn't let go. . . . A well-plotted mystery with love and loyalty at its core, The Birdwatcher is a gratifying standalone that both satisfies and cries for more."—Shelf Awareness (starred review)

"Well told [and] affecting. The writing is beautifully understated, and the characters are vividly drawn and likable in their imperfections. Shaw makes the stony landscape an important element in the work; it becomes, by the end of the story, a place to which readers will feel a curiously strong attachment."—Booklist (starred review)

"A totally satisfying mystery from the first page to the last."—BookRiot

"There is a lot going on in this book which is artfully presented to the intelligent reader. I've read all of William Shaw's novels to date and consider him to be one of the top major talents to emerge in the last five years. Rating: A"—Deadly Pleasures Magazine

"Award-winning author Shaw ("Breen and Tozer" series) delivers an outstanding stand-alone novel; its gritty protagonist, intricate plot, and atmospheric description of the English countryside will please readers of Tana French's 'Dublin Murder Squad' series."—Library Journal

"Shaw crafts a delicious atmosphere."—Mystery Scene

"The Birdwatcher [is] exquisite in every way. A slow-burn book that begins with a violent crime and ends explosively... You won't want to put it down."—BookReporter

"Engaging . . . A fine procedural . . . The action builds to a thrilling ending."—Publishers Weekly

"The Birdwatcher is Shaw's most accomplished book yet, and a demonstration of why so many of his fellow writers have lined up to praise him."—The Independent [UK]

"A brilliantly constructed thriller . . . Utterly compulsive, written in sharp, unsentimental style, and with a wonderfully atmospheric storm-battered setting."—Sunday Mirror [UK]

"William Shaw is, quite simply, an outstanding storyteller. The Birdwatcher is the most gripping book I've read in years."—Peter May, Barry Award-winning author of The Lewis Trilogy

"The Birdwatcher is an astoundingly good crime novel. The characters and setting are brilliantly drawn—the descriptions spare but always telling—and the plot builds to an unforgettable resolution."—Elly Griffiths, author of The Woman in Blue

"A fine, atmospheric, emotionally compelling thriller." Thriller of the Week.—Mail on Sunday [UK]

"A gripping plot, atmospheric setting, highly believable characters, and dialogue you can imagine real people saying, make this a contender for thriller of the year. "—The Sun [UK]

From the Publisher

04/15/2017
When William South was a child, he and his mother relocated to a small town on the rugged Kentish coast of England from Northern Ireland, after his father was murdered. Now a detective, he is a trusted member of his community and is well known to locals as an avid amateur birdwatcher. When a fellow birdwatcher and neighbor is discovered dead in his home, Alexandra Cupidi, a policewoman from London, is assigned to assist William in solving the case. However, once someone personally connected to the death of William's father is also found murdered, he is taken off the case. While on leave from the force, William continues to investigate the killings until his own secrets are unveiled. VERDICT Award-winning author Shaw ("Breen and Tozer" series) delivers an outstanding stand-alone novel; its gritty protagonist, intricate plot, and atmospheric description of the English countryside will please readers of Tana French's "Dublin Murder Squad" series.—Russell Michalak, Goldey-Beacom Coll. Lib., Wilmington, DE

Library Journal

2018-03-05
Detective South hates murder cases, particularly the one he's been ducking for 40 years.Shaw's (A Song for the Brokenhearted, 2016, etc.) downbeat detective story follows the investigation of a brutal murder in the bleak, remote Kentish marshlands of southeastern England. Sgt. William South, assigned to the task force, knew the victim—a quiet, private neighbor who accompanied the policeman on birding expeditions—and aspects of the crime echo a shameful incident from South's own past. As the case grows increasingly personal, South must reckon with his own long-buried sins to bring his friend's killer to justice and break free of the isolating shell of secrecy that has stranded him, lonely and adrift, in a life of anonymous, penitential service. South is a sour and guarded personality, but Shaw makes him an unusually compelling narrator, deftly evoking the watchfulness, intelligence, and wounded decency in the man, with frequent flashbacks to South's tragic youth mired in the Troubles of Northern Ireland providing an emotional baseline for the older South's doggedly stoic efforts. Further complicating South's routine is the arrival of Alexandra Cupidi, a hotshot female investigator fresh from London, eager to prove herself in her new parochial surroundings, and Alex's troubled teenage daughter, Zoë, who touchingly takes up birding in an effort to bond with South, sensing a kindred lonely soul. All the pieces then are in place for a tidy redemption arc, but Shaw has something a bit more nuanced in mind; this is a character study as much as it is a (very competent) procedural, and the author imbues his cast with enough rough edges, private drives, and emotional messiness to make pat resolutions untenable. Shaw delivers something more satisfying: a juicy suburban crime story limned with authentic feeling and sensitivity for the poor doomed souls in its grip.A grimly effective crime drama distinguished by its richly drawn protagonist and empathetic understanding of human behavior, be it saintly or profane.

Kirkus Reviews